Heavy equipment (construction)

  1. Pages with broken file links
  2. Missing redirects
  3. Articles with links needing disambiguation from November 2011
  4. Articles with invalid date parameter in template
  5. Geotechnical engineering
  6. Engineering vehicles
  7. Construction equipment


"Heavy machinery" redirects here. For the album by Anders Johansson, Jens Johansson and Allan Holdsworth, see Heavy Machinery (album).
Further information: Equipment (disambiguation)
File:Tzama02.jpg
Heavy equipment vehicles of various types parking near a highway construction site
File:JCB 3CX backhoe loader.JPG
JCB 3CX backhoe loader
File:Zettelmeyer ZD 3001.jpg
A wheeled bulldozer in an open pit coal mine

Heavy equipment refers to heavy-duty vehicles, specially designed for executing construction tasks, most frequently ones involving earthwork operations. They are also known as, construction equipment, construction plant, earth movers, engineering vehicles, or simply equipment. They usually comprise five equipment systems: implement, traction, structure, power train, control and information.[1] Heavy equipment functions through the mechanical advantage of a simple machine, the ratio between input force applied and force exerted is multiplied.[2] Currently most equipment use hydraulic machinery as a primary source of transmission.

History

Further information: History of construction and History of steam road vehicles
File:Steam lokomobile 2 (aka).jpg
A portable engine; a precursor to modern engineering vehicles.
File:1903 Tractor.JPG
An early gasoline-powered tractor.

The use of heavy equipment has a long history; the ancient Roman engineer Vitruvius (1st century BCE) gave descriptions of heavy equipment and cranes in ancient Rome in his treatise De architectura. The pile driver was invented around 1500. The first tunnelling shield was patented by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1818.

From horses, through steam, to diesel

Until the 19th century and into the early 20th century heavy machines were drawn under human or animal power. With the advent of portable steam-powered engines the drawn machine precursors were reconfigured with the new engines, such as the combine harvester. The design of a core tractor evolved around the new steam power source into a new machine core traction engine, that can be configured as the steam tractor and the steamroller. During the 20th century, internal-combustion engines became the major power source of heavy equipment. Kerosene, ethanol and gasoline engines were used, but today diesel engines are dominant. Mechanical transmission was in many cases replaced by hydraulic machinery. The early 20th century also saw new electric-powered machines such as the forklift. Caterpillar Inc. is a present-day brand from these days, starting out as the Holt Manufacturing Company. The first mass-produced heavy machine was the Fordson tractor in 1917.

The first commercial continuous track vehicle was the Lombard Steam Log Hauler from 1901. Tracks became extensively used for tanks during World War I, and after the war they became commonplace for civilian machinery such as the bulldozer. The largest engineering vehicles, and the largest mobile land machines altogether, are bucket-wheel excavators, built from the 1920s.

"Until almost the twentieth century, one simple tool constituted the primary earthmoving machine: the hand shovel - moved with animal and human powered, sleds, barges, and wagons. This tool was the principal method by which material was either sidecast or elevated to load a conveyance, usually a wheelbarrow, or a cart or wagon drawn by a draft animal. In antiquity, an equivalent of the hand shovel or hoe and head basket—and masses of men—were used to move earth to build civil works. Builders have long used the inclined plane, levers, and ignorant to place solid building materials, but these labor-saving devices did not lend themselves to earthmoving, which required digging, raising, moving, and placing loose materials. The two elements required for mechanized earthmoving, then as now, were an independent power source and off-road mobility, neither of which could be provided by the technology of that time." [3]

Container cranes were used from the 1950s and onwards, and made containerization possible.

Types

In the following, the generic "dump truck" appears several times by more technical names by "type" or application, such as "highway 10 yard rear dump" or off-road varieties like "construction & mining trucks". The category:engineering vehicles partially replicates this generic list and contains specific equipment models not contained here.

Images

  • CAT-D10N-pic001.jpg

    The Caterpillar D10N bulldozer evolved from tracked-type tractors and is characterized by a steel blade attached to the front that is used to push other equipment and construction materials, such as, earth.

  • Blmexcavsm.jpg

    Normally the bucket is pulled toward the excavator to excavate material. The uncommon "thumb" attachment on this Caterpillar enables 'grabbing' objects, for example, during demolition.

  • SMC 200 R.jpg

    The wheel trencher MARAIS SMC 200 R.

  • DrillingMachine with ConcreteMixer and Pump02.jpg

    Iron bar reinforced foundation piles are driven with a drilling machine, concrete pump, mixer-truck, and a specialized auger that allows pumping concrete through its axis while withdrawn.

  • Wheel-loader02.jpg

    Wheel loader

  • 143h ploughing.jpg

    Grader (plowing snow here)

  • Landfill compactor.jpg

    Landfill compactor (tamping tip)

  • Frontloaderorange.jpg

    A wheeled front loader tractor equipped with a large bucket elevated by hydraulic rams.

  • Caterpillar 825G Soil Compactor.jpg

    Reconditioned Caterpillar 825G Soil Compactor

  • Aa Truckconveyor brooklane Epart DSCF0461.JPG

    Folded conveyor on a tracked grinder

Implements and Hydromechanical Work Tools

Traction: Off-the-road tires and Tracks

Heavy equipment requires specialized tires for various construction applications. While many types of equipment have continuous tracks applicable to more severe service requirements, tires are used where greater speed or mobility is required. An understanding of what equipment will be used for during the life of the tires is required for proper selection. Tire selection can have a significant impact on production and unit cost. There are three types of off-the-road tires, transport for earthmoving machines, work for slow moving earth moving machines, and load and carry for transporting as well as digging. Off-highway tires have six categories of service C compactor, E earthmover, G grader, L loader, LS log-skidder and ML mining and logging. Within these service categories are various tread types designed for use on hard-packed surface, soft surface and rock. Tires are a large expense on any construction project, careful consideration should be given to prevent excessive wear or damage.

Structure

"This system connects components, transmits loads, provides attachment points for implements, and allows the machine to travel over uneven ground. The machine’s frame, articulation, and steering for wheeled equipment are the major parts of this system."[1]

Powertrain

Control and Information

"The control and information systems. These systems enable the operator to direct and control all the other systems and provide information to guide operations or to monitor the performance and health of the equipment."[1]

Equipment operators

* see Heavy equipment operator

Operator training

The International Union of Operating Engineers has equipment schools where apprentice operators are trained.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers provides effective safety training materials for operators of rough terrain forklifts and operators of industrial and agricultural mowers.

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools provides American national certification for heavy equipment operator

In the USA haul trucks are typically operated by Teamsters, who they are included on this page as equipment but have a differing apprenticeship and education system.

Currently there is not an international association of heavy equipment schools.

Equipment Cost

[4]

Depreciation can be calculated several ways, the simplest is the straight-line method. The annual depreciation is constant, reducing the equipment value annually. The following are simple equations paraphrased from the Peurifoy & Schexnayder text:

m = some year in the future

N = equipment useful life (years)

and Dn = Annual depreciation amount

Dn = purchase price / N

Book value (BV) in year m

BVm = purchase price - (m x Dn)

example:

N = 5

purchase price = $350,000

m = 3 years from now

BV3 = $350,000 - ( 3 x $350,000/5) = $140,000

Operating cost

For an expense to be classified as an operating cost, it must be incurred through use of the equipment. These costs are as follows[5]:

  • tires
  • 3rd party service contract
  • replacement of high-wear items

The biggest distinction from a cost standpoint is if a repair is classified as a major repair or a minor repair. A major repair can change the depreciable equipment value due to an extension in service life, while a minor repair is normal maintenance. Major repairs are charged to the equipment, and minor repairs are charged to the job. It is advantageous for projects to classify all repairs as major, while the equipment department will desire to classify all repairs as "minor" and charge the work to a job.

Models

Main article: Model construction vehicle

Die-cast metal promotional scale models of heavy equipment are often produced for each vehicle to give to prospective customers. These are typically in 1:50 scale. The popular manufacturers of these models are Conrad and NZG in Germany, even for US vehicles.

Notable Manufacturers


40x40px Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Construction vehicles

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 C. B. Tatum et al., J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt. 132, 987 (2006)
  2. ↑ "Machine." Oilfield Wiki, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 May 2008, 20:01 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 May 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Machine&oldid=214260935>.
  3. ↑ William R. Haycraft "History of Construction Equipment" Journal of Construction Engineering and Management / Volume 137 / Issue 10, Accepted 14 February 2011; published online 15 September 2011 http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000374
  4. ↑ Peurifoy & Schexnayder "Construction Planning Equipment, and Methods" McGraw Hill 6th edition ISBN 0-07-232176-8, 2002.
  5. ↑ Bartholomew, S.H. “Estimating and Bidding for Heavy Construction” CSU Chico, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-598327-4, 2000
  6. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoomlion

External links

Soils
Clay · Silt · Sand · Gravel · Peat · Loam · Loess
Soil properties
Soil mechanics
Geotechnical investigation
Laboratory tests
Field tests
Foundations
Retaining walls
Slope stability
Earthquakes
Geosynthetics
Instrumentation for Stability Monitoring

<span id="interwiki-de-fa" />

bg:Машини за земни работи ca:Maquinària de construcció de:Liste von Baumaschinen und Baugeräten es:Maquinaria de construcción fr:Engin de génie civil hr:Radni stroj he:ציוד מכני הנדסי mn:Барилгын машин тоног төхөөрөмж ja:建設機械 no:Anleggsmaskin nn:Anleggsmaskin pl:Maszyna do robót ziemnych ru:Землеройно-транспортные машины sv:Anläggningsmaskin ta:கட்டுமானப் பொறி zh:工程作業車輛


...